FOSSILS, WHAT ARE THEY?
Fossils are the print or remains of a plant or animal that has lived in the past. It may be a whole animal or a portion such as bone or tooth hardened by minerals. Some examples are an insect encased in amber, a footprint, or the outline of a plant stem or leaf. Plants and animals that lived in damp places left more fossils than the creatures living in dry areas. Most of the fossils we find are of animals that had hard outer shells, or inner skeletons. Hard parts, such as shells, bones, teeth and even wood, decay less easily than soft parts such as skin and muscles. Soft bodied and small boned animals were too delicate to have very many remains fossilized. All living things fossilized from the past are referred to as "Prehistoric". There are some remains from the Ice Age.
The four basic types of fossils are:
1) petrified fossils,
2) molds and casts,
3) prints
4) whole animals and plants.
HUNTING FOR FOSSILS:
Paleontologist first documents the location each fossil removed from a site. Amateurs should at least record the county and as much other information they can about the fossils they remove. Fossils are most often found in sedimentary rocks, and areas of white rock. Road cuts through hills on your local highways are an excellent hunting ground, as are riverbeds and hill tops. There are areas all over the world to locate different species of fossils. You must obtain permission to hunt on private property. Most sites have a charge to hunt or remove fossils. Remember that in Federal and State owned parks you are not allowed to remove any rocks or fossils. Hunting in some fossils sites are as easy as picking up pecans on the ground, others need to be carefully chipped out of the rock.
Have fun and be sure to ask the Glen Rose Fossil Hunter to help Identify
your fossils,
Bussey is not a paleontologist but he sure does have a eye for
finding fossils. He also has access to private property that is not
picked over by the general public.
PRESERVING FOSSILS:
You may clean your fossils with vinegar and a tooth brush. Do not soak the fossil longer than 15min - 1hr at a time, depending on size of the fossil. Vinegar can destroy the fossil if left to soak too long. Keep your fossils out of the weather and direct sunlight.
Museums carefully uncover the fossils then clean away remaining rock and rebuild broken or missing parts with plaster. The skeleton is then ready for study or display. Some fossils are mounted on the original rock they were found in as it was buried. Paleontologist have mounted entire dinosaurs to just a fragment of a small fish. Trilobites are the suspected oldest fossils known. They are usually found in the northern states and Morocco. Fish, plant life and coral from the reefs are found inside rocks and exposed when split open.
